The Trials of Friendship
by only-some-loser
Summary: Bozer had definitely fallen into the wrong crowd, and Mac was the one who took the pain for it, literally. (tag to 2x07, Duct Tape Jack, pre-series)


**AN: This is the twenty-eighth installment of my personal challenge to write a tag for every episode. This is a tag to 2x07, Duct Tape + Jack. It's based off Bozer's statement that Mac had helped him out back when he fell into the wrong crowd. This is my interpretation of that statement, in which that all happened in their senior year of high school. This also includes my headcanon that Mac graduated high school when he was sixteen. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!**

* * *

This wasn't Bozer. He would never do this. What was happening to his best - and basically only - friend? Bozer had been getting into a lot of trouble recently, narrowly avoiding suspensions, but getting plenty of detentions. But this was more than just unruly conduct. Now, he was being complicit with his new friends in their bullying. Mac watched on in stunned silence as Bozer's new friends made fun of an overweight girl. She didn't look upset, but she looked _very_ pissed off. Bozer wasn't doing the bullying directly, but he was laughing along.

Mac finally stood up to put a stop to it, but as he did, Bozer and his friends left back to their own table. He would have to have a thorough discussion with his friend later. He went over to the girl, Nicole, to make sure she was okay.

"Oh what do _you_ want?" Nicole asked him, fire in her eyesas she glared at him.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Mac replied, holding up his hands defensively. He and Nicole had never really been friends, in fact, they'd never really talked at all throughout all of their years in school together.

"Well I'm fine, thanks a lot, hero," she said sarcastically. "I've been dealing with idiots like them my whole life, and I certainly don't need skinny little dorky losers like you to comfort me. I'm perfectly fine thank you very much. Now piss off Angus," she said, turning away from Mac and back to her lunch.

"Okay, sorry," Mac muttered, turning away and walking back to the tree he had been perched under. They were allowed to eat lunch outside since they were seniors, and the whether was nice. Mac hadn't been hungry, but had instead chosen to sit in pleasant air with a book on thermodynamics. He hadn't exactly been expecting that reaction from Nicole, but he couldn't say he had been surprised either. Mac was used to being disliked by most people at Mission City High School. They would be graduating in a month, yet he was barely sixteen years old. Being that far ahead in school was bound to get him some enemies, plus, and he would admit to this, Mac was a smartass. He didn't feel his intelligence made him superior or anything, but he was never afraid of making sure people knew exactly how resourceful and smart he was. Most people found him insufferably annoying because of this. But Bozer had never been that way. He needed to talk to him.

Mac was able to catch Bozer without his new friends after the last bell rang.

"Hey, Boze," he said, catching up to his friend at his locker. "What's going on?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Bozer asked in reply, looking utterly bored at Mac's question.

"What was that with you and those jocks bullying Nicole? What did she ever do to you? You know, I haven't said anything about it because it's mostly been harmless stuff, but now you're being complicit in hurting people, and that's not okay with me. What's gotten into you?" he said, genuinely confused. Bozer used to stand up to bullies, but now he was one. What had happened to his friend?

"Oh come on, Mac. Nicole can take it. She's tough, and all she did was provide us with some laughs. What's the big deal?" Bozer said with a smile on his face, as if there really wasn't a problem at all. He closed his locker, shouldered his backpack, and started walking away.

"Seriously, Bozer-"

"Piss off, Mac," he interrupted, flipping off the blond before running to catch up with his new popular friends.

Mac just stood there, dumbfounded. What was he supposed to do if Bozer didn't even want to talk? Shaking his head, Mac turned and began the walk back to his grandfather's house.

* * *

Two days later, and Bozer hadn't changed. He still wasn't actively bullying anyone, but he was complicit in the bullies' actions, laughing along with them at their unfortunate victims. Mac didn't know what to do. Bozer would barely look at him, much less talk to him. As much as he hated to have to, he was going to have to ask his grandfather for advice. Maybe he would know what to do.

Mac heard snickering behind him as he walked home. He didn't have to turn around to know it was those same jocks who had been tormenting people all week. He rolled his eyes and kept walking, slightly faster.

"Hey, Angus!" they called out. Mac ignored them. He could tell they were walking faster to catch up with them, but he wouldn't run. He wasn't a coward.

"Hey butthead, we're talking to you!" one of them shouted. They were only a few feet behind him now.

"Does it look like I care?" Mac replied, not even bothering to turn his head. He knew that was not a wise thing to say to bullies who were all bigger than him, but he couldn't help himself. In his experience, the more danger he was in, the more sarcastic he was.

"You should," the jerk growled, reaching forward and pulling Mac to the ground by the back of his shirt. Mac groaned lightly, but didn't reply. He made to stand up, only for one of the jerks to step on his chest, _hard_. Mac couldn't hold back another groan. "How about we remind him why he should care when we talk, huh fellas?" the jerk said. His words were met with laughter and sounds of approval. Mac knew what was coming, but he couldn't get up. The bully was a full head taller than him, and having been on the varsity football team, about a hundred pounds heavier. Mac had some decent muscles of his own, but compared to the young man standing on him, he was a shrimp.

"Uh, guys," came a hesitant voice from the back of the group. It was Bozer. Mac tried to twist and turn to make eye contact with his friend, but to no avail. The others were ignoring him too.

Then the first kick came. Then another, and another, and another, and another, and another. Mac tried to defend himself, but there were too many of them, they were too big, too strong, and he was a shrimp. He was a perfect target for many reasons. Mac was able to hold in most sounds of pain until one particularly strong kick to his ribs forced him to release a cry of pain and a gasp for air.

"Hey, stop!" came a shout from above him. Mac was too busy trying to breathe through the pain to pay much attention to it. But then, the kicks stopped. He could hear a few punches being thrown and small shouts, and someone saying in a low, cold voice, "don't you ever touch him again, or I swear, I'll do more than break your nose." Then there was nothing.

Mac slowly opened his eyes, and saw the bullies running away, all except for Bozer, who stood staring after them, before turning around to face Mac.

"Mac, I'm so, so sorry. This was never supposed to happen, and I'm such an idiot to believe it wouldn't. I'm so sorry," he said, falling to his knees beside his friend. "Are you okay? Let me see," he said. Bozer didn't listen to Mac's small protests and lifted up the blond's shirt, revealing a plethora of angry red marks. One particularly nasty one on his ribs looked the most concerning. Bozer gently brushed his fingers against it, eliciting a cry of pain from Mac. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he rushed out, quickly removing his hands. "Is it broken?" he asked, his voice cracking at the end.

Mac let out a shuddering breath as he nodded his head, saying, "I think so."

"I'm so sorry, Mac. I'm so sorry, this is all my fault," Bozer said, his voice thick with guilt and emotion. "Let me get you to the hospital-"

"No, just get me home," Mac interjected. He hated hospitals. He truly, truly hated them.

"Okay, okay, let me help you up," Bozer said, throwing one of Mac's arms around his shoulder to help the blond to stand. Mac gasped in pain as he stood, the sharp pain in his ribs making itself known. Bozer looked away, but not before Mac caught the guilt on his face. It was partially his fault, and Mac wouldn't be a jerk about it, but he would make sure Bozer never hung out with any of them again.

The walk back to Mac's grandfather's house was longer than usual, and painful, with Mac's ribs protesting with every breath he took. Finally, they did arrive, and his grandfather luckily wasn't home. Mac already knew there was nothing that could be done for cracked ribs, so he settled for having Bozer get an ice pack from the freezer.

"Mac," Bozer started, hesitantly taking a seat next to his friend on the couch. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you better be," Mac quickly replied, but with no real fire in his voice. "What were you thinking? Hanging out with them was bound to get you into trouble. I held my tongue about it for a long time, but I'm done. What's gotten into you?" he asked, his voice now genuinely curious yet caring.

Bozer sighed, looking away before replying, "I just wanted them to like me. I was so surprised and honored when they did, so I just went along with everything to keep it that way."

"Boze, everyone already likes you! You may not be part of the popular crowd, but you're a popular kid. Everyone wants to be your friend. You don't need to be in a clique with some jerks to have friends. I thought I was your best friend, you have me," Mac said, emotion thick in his voice. He still couldn't understand why Bozer would believe that he needed the friendships of the biggest jerks in school, who hurt others on a regular basis.

"You _are_ my best friend, Mac. You have been since I broke Donny Sandoz' nose for you! That's why I'm so sorry. I know you've dealt with jerks like him your whole life, and I vowed when we were kids to do everything in my power to stop them from hurting you. I've broken that promise, and because of me, they came after you again. I'm sorry, Mac. I'm so, _so_ sorry," Bozer replied, his eyes shining with emotion and possibly a few unshed tears.

Mac gave him a gentle smile, saying, "I know, Boze, and I forgive you. It's okay. I know you never meant for any of this to happen. Just please, promise me you'll stop hanging out with them and constantly getting into trouble," he urged.

"No problem," Bozer said with a laugh. "I'm pretty sure next time they see me, they'll be running scared."

Mac and Bozer both laughed, with Mac clutching his ribs through the pain. He couldn't even be mad at Bozer anymore. He knew his friend really was sorry, and would making up for his actions for weeks to come. For now, Mac was just happy that he finally had his best friend back.


End file.
